Richard Holland (20 years) Larry Gilman (2001–present)
Children
1
Donna Mills (born Donna Jean Miller; December 11, 1940) is an American actress. She began her television career in 1966 with a recurring role on The Secret Storm, and in the same year appeared on Broadway in Woody Allen's comedy Don't Drink the Water. She made her film debut the next year in The Incident. She then starred for three years on the soap opera Love is a Many Splendored Thing (1967–70), before starring as Tobie Williams, the girlfriend of Clint Eastwood's character in the 1971 cult thriller Play Misty for Me. Mills played the female lead in the heist film Murph the Surf (1975), and had starring roles in a number of made-for-television movies during the 1970s.
Mills was born Donna Jean Miller in Chicago, to Bernice (née Lantz), a housewife,[3] and Ambrose, a computer analyst for Union Oil.[4] She has one brother, Donald, who is 10 years her senior.[5] Raised in Norwood Park, Mills attended Garvy Elementary School and Taft High School; one of her classmates was Jim Jacobs, co-creator of Grease, who based the character of Sandy on her.[1]
Mills attended the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign where she was a member of Delta Gamma sorority. She completed one year of course work, then left to pursue a dancing career, gaining some stage experience in summer stock productions. Her first professional acting role was in a production of Come Blow Your Horn at the Drury Lane Theater in Chicago. She later was cast in a touring production of My Fair Lady, which brought her to New York City.[6] Before she got a job on TV, Mills supported herself as a secretary at Popular Mechanics magazine.[7]
Mills' parents retired to Florida, while her brother makes his home in Colorado.[4]
Mills began her acting career on television playing a nightclub singer named Rocket on the Manhattan-based CBS daytime soap opera, The Secret Storm in 1966. She later appeared on Broadway in Woody Allen's comedy Don't Drink the Water as the Sultan of Bashir's wife.[8] Following this, she made her big screen debut in the neo noir crime-thriller film, The Incident (1967), co-starring alongside Martin Sheen, Beau Bridges, Ed McMahon and Thelma Ritter. The film received positive reviews from critics and was successful in a box office. In the fall of 1967, Mills gained a regular role as ex-nun Laura Donnelly on the new CBS daytime soap opera, Love is a Many Splendored Thing. She left the series in 1970 and relocated to the West Coast, thereupon making her primetime TV debut in an episode of the Western series, Lancer.
In an era when TV was considered inferior to feature films, many had questioned Mills' decision to focus less on the latter medium.[14] As the actress retrospectively explained to Soap Opera Digest in 1996, "if I had gotten some big [movie] roles, it would probably be all over by now. Movie careers don't last all that long, generally. But my television career has been terrific, so I can't say that I'm disappointed at all."[15]
1980s: Knots Landing
Mills in 1981
In 1980, Mills landed her most prominent role — that of scheming, manipulative vixen Abby Cunningham on the long-running primetime soap opera Knots Landing.[6] In an interview with Jerry Buck for the Associated Press, Mills said: "I got tired of playing the victim. It's a more active role. Abby keeps things stirred up, and I like that."[16] According to series creator David Jacobs, Abby was not planned when the show began. He knew that he wanted a female J.R. Ewing-esque character.[17] However, he had a different sense of the character and who would wind up in the role. With Mills' reputation of playing the victim, he initially did not choose her for the part.[17]
Josh Mapes of The Biography Channel listed her in the category "10 Primetime Stars We Love to Hate". He said, "Any great soap opera needs a great villain. While viewers may identify more with the protagonist, the villains in a serial drama always spice things up, cause trouble, and make it more fun to watch. From tongue lashings to catfights, underhanded tricks to boldface lies, the characters we love to hate have each brought a fair share of great moments to primetime soaps. While Larry Hagman played the bad guy on Dallas, Donna Mills played bad girl on its spin-off, Knots Landing. Unapologetically going after what she wanted, Mills' character engaged in affairs with two of the husbands on the Knots Landing cul-de-sac, but like most vixens on primetime soaps, she was only out for money, not love."[18]
In 1989, Mills announced her intention to leave the long-running nighttime soap after nine years as Abby.[19][20] According to Mills, she wanted to take a break from acting for a while, and from Abby, as well.[21] In an interview with The Cedartown Standard, Mills explained: "I'm tired of the show. It's been too long. I'm not particularly happy with the way they've been writing Abby lately. She's too soft. I'd like Abby to get back to her old self."[22] For this role, she won the Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Villainess on three occasions, in 1986, 1988, and 1989, as well as a 1986 nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Leading Role on a Prime Time Serial.[23]
During her time in Knots Landing, Mills also appeared in a number of other projects. In 1982, she starred alongside Genie Francis and Linda Evans in the CBS two-part miniseries Bare Essence, and in 1985 appeared in the CBS musical film Alice in Wonderland. She played the leading roles in the made-for-television movies He's Not Your Son (1984), Intimate Encounters (1986), Outback Bound (1988) and The Lady Forgets (1989).[12]
After few years in semi-retirement, Mills continued to appear on television in movies and guest roles. In 2004, she starred as Mrs. Claus opposite George Hamilton in the Holiday comedy film A Very Cool Christmas. In 2005, she reunited with the Knots Landing cast for the nonfiction special, Knots Landing Reunion: Together Again, in which the stars reminisced about the show. In the mid-to-late-2000s, Mills appeared in various television movies such as Love Is A Four Letter Word in 2007 and Ladies of the House alongside Florence Henderson and Pam Grier in 2008, as well as guest appearances in series such as Cold Case (in a provocative role as a woman who seduces her grandson) and Nip/Tuck (guest-starring with fellow Knots Landing star Joan Van Ark). In 2012, she made a guest appearance in the ABC comedy series, GCB as Bitsy Lourd, Annie Potts' character nemesis[24][25] and appeared as a guest judge on the reality series RuPaul's Drag U.[26] The following year, she starred in the thriller film Deadly Revenge produced by MarVista Entertainment, and played a psychologist in the independent comedy-drama When Life Keeps Getting In The Way.[27][28]
In 2014, Mills made her return to daytime soap operas, for the first time since 1970. She was cast in a major recurring guest-starring role on ABC's General Hospital.[29][30] She debuted in mid-March and stayed to May.[31] Later that same year, she returned for another multiple-episode arc. At the 42nd Daytime Emmy Awards, Mills won Outstanding Special Guest Performer in a Drama Series for her performance in General Hospital, in a three-way tie with Fred Willard and Ray Wise.[32][33] In August 2018, Mills returned for another multiple-episode arc.[34] About her experience on soap she later said: “I loved everyone at General Hospital. I became good friends with Laura Wright (Carly), and [executive producer] Frank Valentini is just a doll. But the way they shoot soaps now is so hard. You might be shooting scenes for two or more episodes a day, and there’s no time to rehearse. It just wasn’t a very satisfying experience for me, as an actor.”[35]
Mills with daughter Chloe in 2009
In 2015, Mills starred in the POP reality series Queens of Drama about a group of former stars who now produce a new primetime serial drama to star in. The ladies were required to work together in front of and behind the cameras as they developed, pitched, and produced their steamy series with the hopes of landing a pilot deal by the end of the season.[36][37]
In 2017, Mills was cast in the lead role of Daisy Werthan in the Colony Theatre's production of Alfred Uhry's Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Driving Miss Daisy.[41] Also that year, she played a leading role in the Pure Flix streaming drama series, Hilton Head Island.[42] In 2019, she starred alongside Dyan Cannon and Crystal Hunt in the Pure Flix comedy series Mood Swings.[43] She also starred in the independent films Best Mom (2018), Turnover (2019), and A Beauty & the Beast Christmas (2019).
In 2022, Mills appeared in Jordan Peele's horror film Nope and received the Palm Springs International Film Festival Women In Film and Television's Above And Beyond Award.[44] She also starred in the thriller film Abused alongside James Russo, Taryn Manning and Angie Stone.[45] Later that year, she was cast in the Lifetime limited series, V.C. Andrews' Dawn as wicked grandmother Lillian Cutler.[46] The series premiered in July 2023 due mixed reviews but her performance was praised.[47] In January 2023, she guest starred in the ABC crime series, The Rookie: Feds making her first prime-time television series appearance in ten years.[48][49]
Never married, Mills had an on-again, off-again relationship with advertising executive Richard Holland (former husband of singer Chaka Khan) for approximately 20 years beginning in 1979.[3][52][53] She dated Intimate Encounters co-star Clayton Norcross during a break from Holland.[54] In September 1994, Mills adopted a newborn daughter, Chloe.[55][56] She has been in a relationship with Larry Gilman since 2001,[57][58] and says their decision not to combine finances by marrying is "much cleaner, much better."[1]
Mills appeared in cover-featured (non-nude) pictorials for the October 1987[59] and November 1989 editions of Playboy.[60]
Morgan Fairchild is an American actress. She began acting in the early 1970s and has had roles in several television series ever since.
Joan Van Ark is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Valene Ewing on the primetime soap opera Knots Landing. A life member of The Actors Studio, she made her Broadway debut in 1966 in Barefoot in the Park. In 1971, she received a Theatre World Award and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for the revival of The School for Wives.
Cynthia Michele Watros is an American actress recognized for her roles in both daytime and primetime television. In 1994, she was cast in the regular role of Annie Dutton on Guiding Light, which earned her the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 1998. In 2002, she was cast as Kellie on The Drew Carey Show and in 2005 joined the cast of Lost as Libby Smith. Since 2019, Watros has portrayed the role of Nina Reeves on ABC's General Hospital.
Linda Dano is an American actress and television host. She began her career appearing in film and prime time television, before in 1978 was cast as Rae Cummings on the ABC daytime soap opera, One Life to Live (1978–80). From 1983 to 1999, Dano starred as Felicia Gallant in the NBC soap opera Another World. She returned to One Life to Live starring in show from 1999 to 2004. Dano was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award seven times, winning once for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 1993 for her work on Another World.
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Linda Ann Gray is an American film, stage and television actress, director, producer and former model, best known for her role as Sue Ellen Ewing, the long-suffering wife of Larry Hagman's character J.R. Ewing on the CBS television drama series Dallas, for which she was nominated for the 1981 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. The role also earned her two Golden Globe Awards nominations.
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Michele Lee is an American actress, singer, dancer, producer and director. She is known for her role as Karen Fairgate MacKenzie on the prime-time soap opera Knots Landing, for which she was nominated for a 1982 Emmy Award and won the Soap Opera Digest Award for Best Actress in 1988, 1991, and 1992. She was the only performer to appear in all 344 episodes of the series.
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Robert Desiderio is an American actor best known for his roles on television. He starred as Steve Piermont in the ABC daytime soap opera One Life to Live (1982-83) opposite his future wife, Judith Light. He starred in the short-lived HBO drama series, Maximum Security (1984-85), the ABC crime drama Heart of the City (1986-87), and from 1988 to 1989 played Ted Melcher in the CBS prime time soap opera, Knots Landing.
Abby Fairgate is a fictional character from the CBS prime time soap opera Knots Landing, a long-running serial about middle class life on the fictional cul-de-sac known as Seaview Circle in Los Angeles, California. She was played by actress Donna Mills between 1980 and 1989. Abby was created by producer David Jacobs as one of Knots Landing's earliest characters. She debuted in the first episode of the second season. Mills remained a principal actor in the series until she left in its tenth season. She returned for the two-part series finale in 1993, and made her last appearance in 1997 when she appeared in the reunion miniseries Knots Landing: Back to the Cul-de-Sac.
Madeline Reeves is a fictional character on the long-running ABC daytime soap opera General Hospital, portrayed by Donna Mills, who made her appearance on March 14, 2014. The casting was announced in January 2014. Madeline was introduced as the estranged mother-in-law of Dr. Silas Clay and mother of Silas' comatose wife Nina Reeves and, biological aunt of Nathan West — whom she raised as her own. Madeline is also revealed to be the estranged sister of established character Dr. Liesl Obrecht having remade herself. Mills wrapped her initial stint in May 2014. Though the character was supposed to be short-term, Mills reprised the role of Madeline from October 2014 to January 2015. The character once again resurfaced in May 2015. Her returns have centered on Madeline's attempts to get back in her son's good graces and get her hands on the family fortune.
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